Members wrongnote85 Posted June 10, 2012 Members Share Posted June 10, 2012 you win with that!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted June 10, 2012 Members Share Posted June 10, 2012 Great gig man! Love when you are pushing the camera holder to film out in the crowd! LOL I do that all of the time. To me that video screams mission accomplished. I hope they hire you again IF they choose Reno for another conference. Many times you can get locked into these corporate events 2-3 years in a row. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JoeDirt Posted June 10, 2012 Members Share Posted June 10, 2012 Sweet gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 10, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 10, 2012 Unfortunately, that's kind of a chicken and an egg kind of thing. You only want to play songs like that once you get the good gigs, but you have to play songs like that to get the good gigs in the first place. Unfortunately if you want to be a fun, sing-along party band, you have to suck it up and play some marginal gigs with those tunes in order to build a following and get into the good gigs. At least that's been my experience.^^THIS^^ If you want 'those' sorts of gigs you have to decide you want to be 'that' sort of band and go for it. You're not going to get that gig and THEN add some party sing-along songs to the setlist. And a lot of guys don't want 'those' sorts of gigs bad enough to be 'that' sort of band. Which is cool. Just be the best band you can be at whatever you do. (Besides, we don't need any more competition anyway... )But one thing I will say: obviously not all our gigs are like THAT. I wish they were, but we only get a few a year that get anywhere near that crazy. But BECAUSE we're 'that' sort of band, most of our gigs are a lot of fun with all the people---whether there are 50 or 5,000 there---having a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 10, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 10, 2012 Great gig man! Love when you are pushing the camera holder to film out in the crowd! LOL I do that all of the time. To me that video screams mission accomplished. I hope they hire you again IF they choose Reno for another conference. Many times you can get locked into these corporate events 2-3 years in a row. We showed up to that gig without ANYBODY extra in tow. But once I saw the size of the crowd, I knew I was going to have to get SOME sort of footage. So most of it I did myself either while playing with one hand, or (in the case of "Shout") figuring it was more important I get some good crowd footage rather than play the piano. During Mustang Sally (BTW, a song we almost never play but we were pulling out every '60s song we had for this theme party. Obviously, it was a good choice....) some guy from the crowd sees me struggling to play keys and shoot video at the same time and offers to do it. So I hand him the camera and he starts point it at me! No, no dude. No one wants to see ME...lolBut their conference next year will be in San Diego. And while we got really, really good feedback from the gig (it was interesting how many people recognized us in the casino the next day and came up to us and complemented us considering we were all in costume on stage. I guess the lesson there is "always walk next to the pretty girl singers...) and they were talking about having us again next year, San Diego is a pretty long haul unless they want to play us REALLY well. Would be great if they did, since that was obviously a blast to play, but there are a lot of really good bands in Southern California that I'm sure would be happy to do it for less than what we would need to charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Hey man, just admit it. You live in a big city that caters to the rich! Just for the record: As I already mentioned, Reno (where the gig was held) is actually about an hour and 15 min drive from where I, or anybody in the band lives. But as far as population centers go: Reno, NV: 225,221 (according to the 2010 census.) http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&met_y=population&idim=place:3260600&dl=en&hl=en&q=reno+nv+population Louisville, KY: 556,503. http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=kf7tgg1uo9ude_&met_y=population&idim=place:2148006&dl=en&hl=en&q=louisville+ky+population Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeff42 Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 I had a pretty good weekend with my trio but NOTHING like this! GREAT JOB!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MikeyParent Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Holy {censored}balls - dream gig right there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRSJim Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members antonioctd Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 David, your video made me want to start a "Party band"! LOL Great, great gig! Incredible crowd and more important, incredible crowd response! Just one thing I would never allow: That much people (if any) in the stage area!! NO F***ing way!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Just one thing I would never allow: That much people (if any) in the stage area!! NO F***ing way!! Letting people up on stage is a regular part of what we do. It's crazy how much how many people want to be on stage. (I guess I shouldn't be too surprised----obviously I like being on stage too, I just wouldn't be at all interested in doing it at somebody else's show.) But as soon as we let a couple of people on stage, suddenly it was a sea of arms up front of people wanting me reach down and drag them up. Crazy. We've taken necessary precautions by keeping the front line clear of all cables and equipment. The guitarist is up on a riser in the back so his pedals are safe from being stomped on and my keyboard set-up sort of creates its own little 'safe' zone. At one little bit of the clip you can see our two singers have moved back up on the drum riser, so the whole front of the stage is cleared for people to use. And most people are pretty respectful. They don't want to damage anything. They just want to have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members antonioctd Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Letting people up on stage is a regular part of what we do. It's crazy how much how many people want to be on stage. (I guess I shouldn't be too surprised----obviously I like being on stage too, I just wouldn't be at all interested in doing it at somebody else's show.) But as soon as we let a couple of people on stage, suddenly it was a sea of arms up front of people wanting me reach down and drag them up. Crazy.We've taken necessary precautions by keeping the front line clear of all cables and equipment. The guitarist is up on a riser in the back so his pedals are safe from being stomped on and my keyboard set-up sort of creates its own little 'safe' zone. At one little bit of the clip you can see our two singers have moved back up on the drum riser, so the whole front of the stage is cleared for people to use.And most people are pretty respectful. They don't want to damage anything. They just want to have fun. Ok. So it's an integral part of your show and you have every thing prepared for it. That way it makes sense. And it's actually a very good idea. If I ever do something like that I would have to think a lot about the way to setup my rig... I start to freak out every time any drunk people get less than 10 meters way from my amp or pedals. Let alone being right next to my rig! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Letting people up on stage is a regular part of what we do. It's crazy how much how many people want to be on stage. (I guess I shouldn't be too surprised----obviously I like being on stage too, I just wouldn't be at all interested in doing it at somebody else's show.) But as soon as we let a couple of people on stage, suddenly it was a sea of arms up front of people wanting me reach down and drag them up. Crazy. We've taken necessary precautions by keeping the front line clear of all cables and equipment. The guitarist is up on a riser in the back so his pedals are safe from being stomped on and my keyboard set-up sort of creates its own little 'safe' zone. At one little bit of the clip you can see our two singers have moved back up on the drum riser, so the whole front of the stage is cleared for people to use. And most people are pretty respectful. They don't want to damage anything. They just want to have fun. Ditto on this. I don't expect other bands to embrace this (in fact, it works better for us when they don't ) but we've always had an inclusive approach. You be hard pressed to find much video or pictures without women on stage (guys get the boot!). It's just part of our style and presentation. It can get out of hand sometimes but we always have help from either the club or our own helpers to thin the herd. As far as equipment goes, people are usually respectful. In any case I stopped shopping for the 'latest & greatest' for stage gear a long time ago. Now I just keep stuff affordable in case it needs to get replaced. I have some cheaper synths on stage and our other keyboardist uses some cheap controllers and modules instead of full workstations. Just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Actually no. I live in a little town of about 20,000 people. Reno is an hour away and mostly caters to a fairly low-rent clientele. At least compared to Las Vegas. But they do have a couple of nice hotels with some nice convention rooms and this organization held their annual 3-day event there. Most cities of any size have some sort of convention business. I'm not even sure who they were exactly. Some group who works with student councils in California or some such. They liked to party though. I would imagine some groups hold their annual events even in Louisville sometimes. And some probably hire bands for their after-dinner dance. It's a good market to look into to. You never know what's out there. These folks found us on Gigmasters, IIRC.You think some groups might hold their conventions in places like this?http://www.northernkentuckycvb.com/meeting-planners/meeting-facilities/rivercenter-convention-package.aspxMost of our "opportunities" involve marketing the band well, being willing to travel (because there aren't that many gigs of the type we like to play locally---I've got to leave in an hour or so to do a 4 hour drive to play a wedding later today in Napa Valley and won't get back until tomorrow) and then being a good enough to deliver on the promises we make and know how to entertain the crowd.But the truth is that we were just a band willing to travel to Reno that they found on the internet. They could have hired a lot of bands, so it was the marketing that sold it. This crowd was easy. They were ready to go from the start. All we had to do was put the band in high gear and let 'er rip for 2 hours. And they had a great time, so we had a great time. And---now the bragging bit---we knocked it out of the park for them. They wanted a band who would deliver a certain sort of party and we delivered it. THAT part we do very well. Looks like a great gig and a great time. First off i dont think you can compare INDY to Louisville. Indy is the state capitol , has some huge companies and is centrally located and hosts a lot of big corp stuff. Most towns of any size have some plum corp gigs. Daves band has been able to put some of those on their resume and they were the guys who happened to have the right kind of band , and had their location workin for them. As for reno. maybe one of the reasons why they chose reno was because it was smaller, less hassle than vegas and it had the venue at the right price to host the event. Lots of people are looking at the buget and want to cut back on some of the expenses, but still want a nice event with a great band. We are not doing the kind of stuff dave is doing yet , but we are movin up the ladder and booking better stuff than we did last year. I think we sealed the deal to be to go to band for the best country club golf community for their events yesterday down here. It takes time and hard work and a little luck. We are willing to work hard. How many bands can play a fri and sat up by Kansas city ,, and turn around and do a show back in south texas 5 hours after landing from the out of towner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Ditto on this. I don't expect other bands to embrace this (in fact, it works better for us when they don't ) but we've always had an inclusive approach. You be hard pressed to find much video or pictures without women on stage (guys get the boot!). It's just part of our style and presentation. It can get out of hand sometimes but we always have help from either the club or our own helpers to thin the herd. As far as equipment goes, people are usually respectful. In any case I stopped shopping for the 'latest & greatest' for stage gear a long time ago. Now I just keep stuff affordable in case it needs to get replaced. I have some cheaper synths on stage and our other keyboardist uses some cheap controllers and modules instead of full workstations. Just in case. I find most people don't really want to enter the "keyboard zone". I think they are a bit intimated by what looks like obviously expensive gear, and it's not as "rock" to hang out behind the keys as it is up front with the singers and guitarists.Or maybe I just smell funny.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members antonioctd Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Ditto on this. I don't expect other bands to embrace this (in fact, it works better for us when they don't ) but we've always had an inclusive approach. You be hard pressed to find much video or pictures without women on stage (guys get the boot!). It's just part of our style and presentation. It can get out of hand sometimes but we always have help from either the club or our own helpers to thin the herd. As far as equipment goes, people are usually respectful. In any case I stopped shopping for the 'latest & greatest' for stage gear a long time ago. Now I just keep stuff affordable in case it needs to get replaced. I have some cheaper synths on stage and our other keyboardist uses some cheap controllers and modules instead of full workstations. Just in case. That's just not an option for me! I'm a tone freak! lol. I've spent many years trying finding my voice on the guitar and I'm 80% there. I get compliments every show for my tone and my guitar playing. Yes! It's ego! But it's what makes my play motivated and inspired. Any way, I not using worse equipment "just in case"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 Looks like a great gig and a great time. First off i dont think you can compare INDY to Louisville. Indy is the state capitol , has some huge companies and is centrally located and hosts a lot of big corp stuff. I didn't. I provided a link to the convention center in Cincinnati. Wade mentioned Cincy, so I thought it was appropriate. Cincy is only about a half-hour further from where Wade lives than Reno is from me. And Louisville has a convention center as well.I get a bit defensive sometimes because I resent the attitude that any success we might have is due to where we live. It's both an insult to the hard work we've done AND sends a really bad message to people on this forum looking for new avenues for gigging. Maybe it makes Wade feel better to convince himself that "that just can't be done here" and take that sort of defeatist attitude, but it simply isn't right.First of all, even if it WERE true that location had a lot to do with it, the fact is that there are dozens of other bands and hundreds of other musicians in this area who would LOVE to get such a gig but not only didn't, but never would in a million years. Instead we got it. Why? Because we're so much more talented and skilled than they are? No. Many of those bands probably kick our ass musicially. It's because we take what we do seriously from a business perspective and do what we need to do to be in the position to take advantage of these sorts of opportunities when they do arise. And instead of making excuses for when we can't do something, instead finding a way to make it happen.Second of all, it really has nothing to do with location. All sorts of companies and groups hold conventions in all sorts of cities. Have you ever paid attention to the 'groups' holding conferences when you go to almost ANY hotel? Mostly stuff nobody has ever heard of. Yet many have parties and hire bands. And if they do they almost always pay well and the people come ready to party. Most towns of any size have some plum corp gigs. Daves band has been able to put some of those on their resume and they were the guys who happened to have the right kind of band , and had their location workin for them. As for reno. maybe one of the reasons why they chose reno was because it was smaller, less hassle than vegas and it had the venue at the right price to host the event. Lots of people are looking at the buget and want to cut back on some of the expenses, but still want a nice event with a great band. We are not doing the kind of stuff dave is doing yet , but we are movin up the ladder and booking better stuff than we did last year. I think we sealed the deal to be to go to band for the best country club golf community for their events yesterday down here. It takes time and hard work and a little luck. We are willing to work hard. How many bands can play a fri and sat up by Kansas city ,, and turn around and do a show back in south texas 5 hours after landing from the out of towner.Yep. all this. Really seems like you guys are finding your niche. Just takes putting in the work. And being the 'go to' band for any niche is fun and rewarding. Good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 I felt the need to make up for the stark 'crowdless' daytime vids I posted a few days ago, so here's a few quick clips from a 60's themed party we played a few weeks back. 'Stang, Dynamite, Shout, Don't Stop Believin'....all the standards are here... Audio is atrocious, but you get the idea... You guys get it, I would love to be at one of your shows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 That's just not an option for me! I'm a tone freak! lol. I've spent many years trying finding my voice on the guitar and I'm 80% there. I get compliments every show for my tone and my guitar playing. Yes! It's ego! But it's what makes my play motivated and inspired. Any way, I not using worse equipment "just in case"... No reason for a guitar player to use 'cheaper gear' just in case. Your amp is behind you and no one is going to f-with with that! As far as pedals, well anything laying on the floor is in danger of being spilled, danced maybe even puked on (it's never happen but hey... it could). When this band started ramping up I ran out and spent big bucks on gear I always wanted to use on stage. I'd see A- list bands playing in the A-list clubs and most of their gear was road worn, used or older versions of current gear (likely used). My impression was these guys were just cheap and never bought anything new. Now I've learned through experience over the years, they'll gig with the disposable gear and leave the new stuff at home. Playing 100 shows a year in all sorts of environments just takes a toll on gear. It's why national acts will replace gear inbetween tours. I'll buy a $1000+ guitar or new synth workstation and leave it at home. I'll buy a $600 keyboard and use it onstage. As a keyboard player, I can program patches on the $600 board to sound just like the $3000 board... and I don't need all the extras. But for a band tone like yours is prime. I noticed it right away on the videos. And when your playing smaller rooms and more AOR it makes sense to really break out the big guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members antonioctd Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 No reason for a guitar player to use 'cheaper gear' just in case. Your amp is behind you and no one is going to f-with with that! As far as pedals, well anything laying on the floor is in danger of being spilled, danced maybe even puked on (it's never happen but hey... it could). When this band started ramping up I ran out and spent big bucks on gear I always wanted to use on stage. I'd see A- list bands playing in the A-list clubs and most of their gear was road worn, used or older versions of current gear (likely used). My impression was these guys were just cheap and never bought anything new. Now I've learned through experience over the years, they'll gig with the disposable gear and leave the new stuff at home. Playing 100 shows a year in all sorts of environments just takes a toll on gear. It's why national acts will replace gear inbetween tours. I'll buy a $1000+ guitar or new synth workstation and leave it at home. I'll buy a $600 keyboard and use it onstage. As a keyboard player, I can program patches on the $600 board to sound just like the $3000 board... and I don't need all the extras. But for a band tone like yours is prime. I noticed it right away on the videos. And when your playing smaller rooms and more AOR it makes sense to really break out the big guns. I get it now. You didn't mean worse tone, just use used gear and not the new toys. And in fact, with the amp right behind me it's improbable that someone would mess with that. You are right there to Just one question: What does "AOR" stand for? My English is nice but I'm Portuguese so I have some difficulty with specific acronyms like that... Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 I get it now. You didn't mean worse tone, just use used gear and not the new toys. And in fact, with the amp right behind me it's improbable that someone would mess with that. You are right there to Just one question: What does "AOR" stand for? My English is nice but I'm Portuguese so I have some difficulty with specific acronyms like that... Thanks Adult oriented rock... bad term but I think applicable to describe the song material you guys cover. Seal, Tina Turner, Joss Stone. Mix of rock, blues and soul. You guys sound great BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 [Yep. all this. Really seems like you guys are finding your niche. Just takes putting in the work. And being the 'go to' band for any niche is fun and rewarding. Good work. Our nitch is basically being willing to wear a lot of hats. We are a bar band, a venue, we are an original act that has material good enough to do the festival thing. We can handle weddings , we can travel long distance to play and sound good on a small footprint when it comes to gear. I am blessed to be working with an organization that has a couple guys who have been full time big league pros. The biggest thing i have learned is that there is a big difference between being weekend warriors,be it corp or a local band, and being with an outfit thats willing to bite off some pretty big challenges and do it with a pretty casual laid back attitude. Maybe its just a texas music scene thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 992gnt Posted June 11, 2012 Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 I'm just on the other side of the river from Cincy, and there are two convention centers within 10 minutes of my house. My band is not in that market, but I have to believe the work is there. The top money making band in the area ($3k a night and up from what I've heard. 4 piece too.) plays all kinds of private events - and high dollar public events as well. We have festivals going on almost every weekend in the summer as well. They are always busy. Bogarts is a great place to see original acts, but cover bands rarely, if ever, play there. David, how many people in your band? Who brought the confetti shooters? Looks like an awesome time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 The biggest thing i have learned is that there is a big difference between being weekend warriors,be it corp or a local band, and being with an outfit thats willing to bite off some pretty big challenges and do it with a pretty casual laid back attitude. Maybe its just a texas music scene thing. Not knowing exactly what you mean by "casual laid back attitude", I think the important think to remember is to have fun in whatever you do, especially with music. If it was just "all business", I wouldn't do what we do. There isn't enough money in it for that. So we have a lot of fun doing it, but we also take things pretty seriously when it's time to go to work. The hours from the beginning of load in until the trailer is packed are pretty serious, but we have a lot of fun after all the work is done. And, of course, the time onstage is fun as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted June 11, 2012 Author Members Share Posted June 11, 2012 David, how many people in your band? Who brought the confetti shooters? Looks like an awesome time!The band is a six-piece. Drums, bass, guitar, keys/guitar, and 2 female vocalists. (No tracks ) The confetti shooters were brought by the people who did the lighting and staging (I think.) This was an easy gig for us in that all the lights and sound were provided. We only had to deal with our stage gear. What a mess! I'm still cleaning confetti out of the gear weeks later! We thought it would be fun to have one of our own, but then quickly realized WE'D probably have to be the ones left to clean it up the gig.Funny thing about the high dollar events--the bigger the gig, the easier many things are and the better the band is treated. A few weeks before the show, I get a email from the guys doing lights and sound and they want to make sure that everything we need is taken care of. Making sure they bring enough stuff to accomodate the show we need to do, etc. It seems that the more we get paid, the bigger 'rock star' treatment we get and the less work we have to do. The flip side of that coin is getting paid next-to-nothing to be treated like we're putting people out in order to play for 4 hrs in a cramped, stinky bar and they are somehow doing US a favor by letting us play there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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